Elec Class
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IEC 60617 standard · 14 symbols
The symbols used in circuit diagrams, with what each component does and how to connect it: sources, resistor, lamp, switch, capacitor, coil and measuring instruments.
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A line is a perfect wire; a symbol is a component.
Battery or power supply: the current leaves through the + terminal and comes back through the − terminal.
With your finger, from the + terminal to the − terminal: an open switch cuts everything.
Where a wire splits, the current divides: those are parallel branches.
Ammeter in the loop (in series), voltmeter across the component (in parallel).
The international standard IEC 60617 (CEI 60617 in French), used in Europe. It ensures a diagram reads the same way in every country.
The zigzag is the American symbol (ANSI standard). The European IEC standard draws a rectangle. Both stand for the same component.
The voltmeter goes in parallel, across the component; the ammeter in series, in the loop. An ammeter in parallel causes a short circuit.
Two parallel lines of different lengths: the long line is the + terminal, the short one the − terminal.
An ideal conductor, with no resistance. Two lines crossing with a dot are connected; without a dot, they cross without touching.
The symbols in a real circuit.